The Denver Botanic Gardens one of America's most extensive botanic gardens. The garden headquarters, which are currently being extensively renovated, also hosts a certificate program for botanical art and illustration.
Students who enroll in the program get a chance to study watercolor, pen-and-ink, scratchboard, colored pencil, and other techniques, as well as botanical science. For more information, visit the page on the DBG site, link., or the Botanical Illustration Blog, link.
The picture above is from Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time. It's painted in oil on illustration board. The pencil drawing was sealed first with acrylic matte medium.
Beautiful paintings. Botanical illustration is beautiful in it's precision. Though she was not a professional, it reminds me of the watercolors that Winslow Homers mother painted, and I believe that was his first experience with the medium.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to ask, what methods are there for sealing a drawing without damaging it in the process?
ReplyDeleteMost of my rendering turns into a mess once the brush comes in contact with it.
My girlfriend did some work at the botanic gardens in Denver a few years ago. One of the programs she helped put together was their art cart. She had a bunch of different types of drawing materials and black and white pictures of plants for kids, and adults, to fill in. From what we hear now it is still a great success! We are both always happy to hear good things about museums, and the like. Thanks for adding more attention to the Denver Botanic gardens!
ReplyDeleteScibotic, I seal the drawing with acrylic matte medium. You could also use shellac.
ReplyDeleteJames, do you find sealing the board with medium, makes the oil react differently without the medium? Beautiful painting by the way.
ReplyDeleteHi James a great greeting from Colombia A really Land Apart from Time jaja, thanks for all the valuable information that we received by means of this blog, you inspire to us to follow ahead with beautiful and the something forgotten way of the traditional art.
ReplyDeleteyou always welcome to our beautiful country which is first in birds, the second in mammals and plants and etc. a true paradise of the biodiversity.
PD: i hope you understands this sincere message with my poor english.
Hi James, love your work. There are some great examples of vintage botanical prints at http://fine-art-prints-store.com/ that might inspire some more ideas. Cheers
ReplyDelete